Refrigerating and ventilating apparatus



July 19, 1932. Q A. MooRE REFRIGERATING Arm vEunLAHuG APPARATUS Filedsept. 12, 1930 '5 Sheets-sheet -1 ulg.

Charles A. Moore July lg, i932.

c. A. MOORE 1,867,749

REFRIGERATING AND VENTILATING- APPARATUS Filed Sept. l2, 1930 5Sheets-Sheet' 2 R Charles A. Yool'e dcrmqv July 19, 1932. C IA MUORE1,867,749

REFRIGERATING AND VENTILATING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 12. 1950 '5Sheem-Shvaaat` 3 July 19, 1932. Q A MOORE Lf'fzllgy REFRIGERATING ANDVENTILATING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 12, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 4' gyn/venlo@Charla? Adllooze July 19, 1932'. c. A. MOORE v 1,867,749

REFRIGERATING AND VENTILATING APPARATUS I Filed Sept. l2, 1930 5Sheets-Sheet 5 fag. 5

Patented .lilly 19, .1932

CHARLES A. MGRE, F EDINA, NESOT REEMGETING AND VENTILTING PRTUSApplication med September 12, 1930. Serial No. 481,426.

My invention relates generally to refri\er ating and Ventilatingapparatus for storage chambers for perishable lading, such as the ladingchambers of storage houses, terminal structures, ships, etc., but itrelatesmore particularly to refrigerating and Ventilating apparatus forthe lading chambers provided within the bodies of trucks and trailersused inY highway transportation and for such L0 chambers within the carsof railway trains.

An object of my invention is to provide improved and simplified meansarranged in conjunction with a storage chamber, whereby the air withinsuch chambermay be e'ectivef l5 1y and economically conditioned in amanner to preserve perishable lading stowed within the chamber'. e i lAnother object of the invention is to provide a circulatoryrefrigerating system for i2@ a storage chamber wherein a reirigeratingliquid is caused to be circulated by means of compressed fresh air whichis washed dur-- ing its liquid propelling action and thereafterintroduced into the chamber for ven tilating purposes.

Another object of my invention is to provide simple and e'ective meansfor exhausting air from the storage chamber and, iurther to provide asimple arrangement wherei@ by the air within the chamber` is ed'ectivelycirculated therein, by gravity.

An additional object is to sup l an apparatus, as above which issusceptib e of unit duplication within the bodies of trucks and trailersand within the cars oi railwa trains, the various units in a given trainse actively receiving their compremed fresh air supply from a sourceaccumulatedand stored in the truck, en ine, or other vehicle of thetrain.

With t e foregoing and otherobjects in view, which will appear in theollowin description, the invention resides in the nove combiantion andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter det5scribed andclaimed. y

In illustrating an application of m invention, I have shown anembodiment t ere of including one form of apparatus in conj junctionwith the bodies of a truck and trailer for highway trac.

1 1 of Fig. 3, said view, as well as others e5 O hereinafter mentioned,showing a part of my apparatus as it is applied to'the vehicularstructure; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view illustrating the rear portion ofthe truck shown in Fi l and the forward portion of a trailer an vattacedto saidtruck, said view being primarily a plan sectional view taken ason the linei2-2 of Fig. 4.; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary y view correspondingwith Fig. 1 the same being partly in elevation and partly in secc6 ytion, the sectional part being taken as on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1; Fig.4f is a fragmentary view correspondin with Fig. 2 and is in verticalsection, being taken as on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is atransverse vertical ,to sectional view taken as on the line 5-5 of Fig.3; Fig. 6 is an elevational view in detail illustratin' the connectionbetween the air supply tan and the return riser of the refrigerantcirculating pipe, and Fig. 7 is an en- 35 larged view, partly in sectionshowing in detail the air jet and its location within said riser. Y 4

Reference being had to the drawings, it will be seen that l haveillustrated a truck A @0 and a trailer B attached thereto. yihe truckincludes the usual chassis frame 10, iront and rear wheels l1, 12 andengine 13, the body of said truck comprising an insulated floor 1 4,side walls 15, roof 116, front wall 1'?, and a rear wall 18 with a daeropening therein. This insulated bodyl provides a storage cham ber Xwhich is accessible at the rear through insulated doors 19 fitted to thedoor opening in the rear wali 18.

The trailer B includes the .usual chassis frame 20, supporting wheels 2land an in sulated body similar to that of the truck and consisting of aninsulated floor 22, side walls 23, end walls 24 and roof 2.5. The frontwheels 21 of the 'trailer B are connectedthrough a suitable tongue ordraw-bar'26 with a coupling member 27 secured to the rear of the truckchassis. The body of the trailer B, Alike that of the truckA A, provides1 l forth in the sub-chamber upon a false 'to tank 31 maybe of an aninsulated lading chamber X, it being with'- in the contemplation of myinvention to emplo as many trailers as may be desired.

ithin the truck body and traversin the chamber X therein is aplanrtition wa l 28 which falls short of the ce1 g of the chamber atthe'top thereof and short of the door of the chamber at the bottomthereof, said Apartition wall providin a compartment W within theforward en of the truck body, the same communicating at the upperportion thereof with the upper portion of the chamberX, through aassageway 29 formed above the partition wa l 28, and at the lower poi'--tion thereof with the lower portion of said chamber, through apassagewa beneath the partition wall. Wit

30 formed this compartment W is an upright tank 31 open at the topthereof, the forward side of Ysaid tank being spaced fromthe front wall17 of the truck body, the rear side' thereof' being spaced from theartition wall 28 and the ends being spce from the side walls 15 of saidtruck dy. The tank 31 is su ported with the bottom thereof elevated suantially above the floor 14 ofthe truck, said tank resting upon strips32 disposed transversely of the truck body and supported upon stringers33 positioned lengthwise o f the truck. Ladin within the chamber restsoor consisting of spaced lloor strips 34 laid on spaced cleats 35 whichare supported upon stringers 36 extending 1ongitudinally along the iloor14 of the truck, the space between the iioor 14 proper and the floorstrips 34 constituting a sub-chamber V, into which air gravitates fromthe comartment W, through the passageway 30, and m which air ascendsinto the chamber X, through the s aces between said door strips 34.

p ipe 3 for conveyin ali uid refrig erant 'from the tank 31 is oope backand V, between the stringers 36, one extremity of said pipe beingconnected with the tank 31 at-bottom thereof, the outer extremity ofsaidpipe constituting a return riser 37* dischar mgl into the tank 31 at thetop thereof. In t e ipe 37 at a point near the tank 31 is a cut-o valve38 and depending from said pipe is a branch pipe 38, fitted with a valve39, by means of which the tank 31 and pipe 37 may be drained of theircontents.

The refrigerating liquid which is supplied suitable character, such ascold -brine or t e like, and to Asuch liquid may be added a quantity ofice, the

hatches 40 in the roof 16 of the truck body providing for the readyintroduction thereof into said tank.

With `the tank 31 chargcdpwithice and brine and the pipe 37, in turn,charged with brine from the tank, a circulation of air, by vity, is setup lwith-in the truck body.` Tlhae air in the compartment W surroundingthe liquid expelled Laune I way 30 into the sub-chamber V where it isfurther cooled by'reaches of the pipe 37.

'This refrigerated air in the sub-chamber V f the licor strips 34 andthence rises between through the lading stowed therein, the same takingthe place of the air ascending in the chamber X about the ladin and alonthe relatively warm side walls o the truck ody. Reaching the upperportion of the chamber X, the air passes through the assageway 29 andinto the upper portion of) the compart. ment W -to take the place .ofthe air cooled about said tank and descending in said compartment bygravity.

The refrigerating liquid in the supp pipe 37 lied thereto from thesupply in the tank 31, is caused toA circulate through said pipe byintroducing air under pressure into the return riser 37 a, as by meansof a jet or nozzle 41 (Fig. 7) disposed within said riser. This nozzleor jet 41 may be applied to the riser 37 in anyl suitable manner, themethod shown involving the threading of the base of the jet into ahollow internally threaded boss 42 formed in an elbow 43 connecting thepipe 37 proper with the return riser 37". An air lead` 44 for feedingair to said jet is threaded into said boss 42 as shown in Fig. 7, saidlead being looped upwardly above the hi h liquid level in the tank 31and connecte with one endiof an air storage tank 45, resting u on thedoor of the truck, crosswise thereo and beheath the stringers 33supporting the tank 31. This air lead 44 is fitted with a cutoi valve 46by means of which the flow of air therethrough may be regulated. Feedinginto the opposite end of the air storage tank 45 is an air pipey 47leading from an air compressor 48 suitably supported by the truckchassis, said feed pipe 47 being able construction -an'd a cut-off valve50. The air compressor 48 is driven through a shaft 51 from a powertake-ofi device 52 of suitable construction, which is operated in theusual manner from the engine 13 of the truck A. v

Air entering the return riser 37 through the jet' 41, causes the liquidtherein to rise above its normal level, co-incident with the fitted witha safety valve 49 of suitlevel of the liquid in the tank, and to Howfrom the upper end of said riser into the open tank 31 at the topthereof, said end of said riser being bent, as shown to thus conductfrom the riser. As the air from the jet 41 commingles with the uid inthe riser 37,'it is washed and cooled y said liquid and, upon nding itsexit from upper portion of the compartment W in a washed andrefrigerated condition.

upwardly movin the air in the upper portion of the compartthe riser, itenters the.

This washed, refrigerated air commingling with`y conduit 53, which Ihave provided with a handle iiow of air with which it is united and,with such air it is further refrigeratedin its downward passage along`the sides and ends of the tank 31,*preparatory to its introduction tothe sub-cb ambery V` ber X.

Corresponding to the quantity of fresh air introduced into' thechamber-X through the jet 41, an equal amount of air finds exit from ofleakage through the an upright air egress provided to conduct air. fromthe upper portion of l the compartment W where the relativel warm airenters from theupper portion ofY the chamber X. This upright conduit 53is located in the space between one end of the tank`31 andthe adjaandthe lading chamtruck body or through centside wall 15- of the .truckbody. The.

up er end of said conduit 53. falls short of the cei ing of thecompartment W, while the lower end thereof projects through the floor 14and opens into the atmosphere beneath the truck, control of the escapeof air through said conduit 53 being had by means of a damper 54arranged within`said conduit and 55 accessible from the cab of thetruck.

` ln order to provide for the introduction of fresh air into the chamberX at such times as it may be undesirable to operate the comf pressor 48through the truck engine, I have arranged within the compartment W anupright air ingress conduit 56, the same opening at its-upper endthrough a side wall 15 of thetruck body into the outer atmosphere and atits lower end into the interior of the compartment W. By reason of itsproximity to the tank 31 and of its location in the downward stream ofcold air about said tank, the air in this upright ingress conduit iscooled and thereby caused to descend from the outer atmosphere into saidcompartment. This ingress of fresh air, by gravity,` into thecirculating iiow of air withinthe truck body may supplement the inow offresh air thereto from the air jet 41 in the liquid return riser 3?". Adamper 57 is arranged within the ingress conduit 56 and operated by ahandle 58 accessible vfrom the cab of the truck to shut or control theingress of air through said conduit 56.

The unitary circulatory system incorporated within the truck body, asabove described, with few exceptions, is duplicated in the trailer body,the corresponding parts of said duplicate systems being designated bysimilar reference characters. Thus, a full detailed description of thecirculatory system within the trailer body will be unnecessar One ex'-ception, above referred to, resides 1n the omission from the trailerbody of a compressed air storage tank.

In lieu of such storage tank, the trailer B, and any succeeding trailer,is supplied with the refrigerating an air line 59 extending from end toend thereof, the upwardly looped air lead 44. being connected with saidlair line59. An air line 60 provided in the truck and fitted with acut-off valve 61, connects at one end with the compressed air tank 45,the other end thereof being accessible at the rear of the truck; In

connecting the air line 60 of the truckA withy .the air line 59 ofthetrailer B, I employ a hose or other suitable flexible connection 61.The air line 59 at the rear of the trailer is provided with a cut-offvalve (not shown) which is either opened or closed according tothepresence of absence of a succeeding trailer, comprising in itsconstruction the fea-- tures of my present invention. Thus, the severalvehicles in a train are equipped with similar unitary circulatorysystems, whichmay be severally operated, as desired, the sys. vtem ineach vehicular body operating to set up a. convective circulation ofrefrigerated air in its respective lading chamber and to ventilate thechamber in an eiiicient manner.

From the foregoing, it is to be noted that numerous advantagesresidein'my invention,

tilating features residing'in the unitary circulatory systems linvehicular orother lading chambers being highly desirable and highlyeilicient, the attendant cost of initial installationk and of operationbein compar atively small. The employment o air pressure, in accordancetwith my present invention, to cause and of a liquid refrigerant 1n aunitary circula-V iiiaintain the circulation tory system readily lendsitself to satisfactory adoption inthe various vehicular structures of atrain, it being relatively simple and practicalto maintain a supply ofair under pressure in a line throughout a train.. And, as explained, ladvantageously employ air from such a line as a motivating medium forcau'sand maintaining a circulatlon of liquid 111g through therefrigerant conducting pipes. Additionally, my invention is advantageousby reason of the use vto which the air is put after it is employed inits liquid motivating capacity. And this is true, particularly instructures employed in highway and railway trac, as the air, which iswashed and cooled in th?i process of causing the circulation of the iquithereafter employed in Ventilating the lading chambers.

Changes in the specific form of my invention, as herein disclosed, maybe made within the scope of what is claimed without departv 'ing fromthe spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what T claim as new and desire to protectby Letters Patent is:

1. In combination, a train of lVehicular structures, each providing astorage chamber l and a compartment adjacent thereto, the chamber beingin communication at its upand aircirculating andven in the refrigerantconducting pipes, is

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i per portion the lower portion of said compartment, a unitarycirculatory system within each strucsaid Ajet causing the circulationfofthel liquid `in said pipe,

y. a storage chamber and ment, the chamberbeing at its upper portlon t acirculatory system the lower portion of the Y.operated by of the train,

an air line in eachvstruotl'lr ture, each system including an upri httank for a liquid'refrigerant disposed within the p. compartment of itsrespectiv'structure and 2 spaced from the walls thereof` and including apipe for conveying the liqnid from the lower portion ofthe tank saidchamber and backto the upper portion; of the tank, an air' compressorcarried and one of the vehicular vstructures a storage tank forthe'compressed air carried by one of the vehicul ist ure's,j

.aptstheadjacent coupled at the ends thereof Y ends of the airlines ofthe adjceiit-"structures, said air tank being connected'1 with the airline of its respective vehicularstructure, each of said unitary systemsurt-herinclud.- in an air jet disposed within vthe 1li uid'e frigerantconveying pipe thereosai je tie-V ing connected with the air line of itsrespective vehicularcstructure, the air issuing `from the li uid, inturn`,' washing and cooling the air,"s`ai air the, attrsproviding a coldfreshenngjsupplyth" fonthe storage chamber.

2. In combinatioma.str'y `re`providing :anadlac'entcompartincommunication wit of the compartment along the bottomof 5;.-1

r air through saidthe'fl'pper portion i. and at its lower .portion--teniamcluding a tank for a liquid refrigerant disposed within the comartment and spaced from the walls thereo and uid circulating ipe forconveyin from the tank a o back to the tank, sai

liquid the said cham r and system further including' means forintroducing air under pressure into said pipe whereby a circulation ofthe liquid is estabiished in said pipe and where- .b' the air is washedand cooled in its passage t rough lsaid pipe and thereafter exhaustedfrom the tank into saidcompartment, said washed and cooled air servin toreduce the temperature of the air in sai com artment and stimulate thegravitating circu ation of compartment and the communicating chamber.

4'., In combination, a structure providing a storage chamber and arefrigerating compartment communicating therewith, Wherebylfa`gravitating. circulation of air is set up '..through means .forintroducing air vunder pressure into said circulatory s stem forcirculating the liquid therein, sai system opening for the-'egress ofair therefrom-'into said refrigerating compartment.

I haveafxed my "fffIn testimony whereof signature.

' 1 CHARLES A. MOORE.

with the lower portion of 'said, con'lpartment, i., g

cluding a d within `the compartment and kspaced fromlthe walls thefreofand includling alifquid circu atin i or. conveying iqui rom g Ppetankalong the bot tom of said chamberand'back'to the tank, said pipeinclu a riser for returning liquid into the tank above the level o .theliquid supply therein, said system further including an air jet upwardlydisposed within said riser, a source of air supp y connected with andfeeding said jet, the' air issuing from the jet causing the liquid toilow from the return riser, thereby establishing a circulation of theliquid through said tank and pipe, the air being passage through saidriser-and thereafter exhausted into .the upper portion ofv saidcompartment, thus. serving to freshen and cool the air circulating bygravity v,throuxm said compartment and the jacentchamben 3. Incombination, a structure-providing a storage chamber ment, the chamberbeing in communication at its upper portion with the upper portion ofvthe compartment and at a lower portion with a lower portiouof saidcompartment, a circulatory system within said structure inand anadjacent compartwithin said structure in:.f. tank for a liquidrefrigerant disincluding a liq- Y the washed and cooled in its p

